Chapter 107

The Righteous Young Master

The branch manager, sitting across from me on the reception room sofa, glanced around nervously before finally speaking.

“There is someone in our branch who was dispatched from the Rose Garden headquarters.”

“I figured.”

The personnel dispatched from the Rose Garden were likely both the pillar that protected the branch in times of crisis and the executioner who would dispose of the branch if it showed any suspicious activity.

Naturally, they would be fiercely loyal to Cecilia and exceptionally skilled.

“If you feel wronged, go ahead and plead your case. I’m curious to see how the dispatched agent will respond.”

Kairus had come here under Cecilia’s orders, with the promise of full support from the branch.

But this so-called branch manager had gotten into a power struggle, and one of his subordinates had their wrist cut off.

Who messed this up? The answer to that question was practically predetermined.

“Enough with the pointless talk. Let’s get to business now.”

Whether people had a good or bad impression of Kairus after he severed that subordinate’s wrist didn’t matter. In any case, once the job was done, they were unlikely to ever see each other again.

“You must have investigated Settern Volos.”

He was the man trying to set fire to their business. If they hadn’t gathered any information on him, it would be no different from admitting to dereliction of duty.

“Settern Volos was appointed as a prosecutor three years ago and has been serving as a rank-and-file prosecutor ever since.”

The branch manager opened with basic information, handing over the prepared documents to Kairus and Irena.

“These are Settern Volos’s activities from the past week.”

As Kairus glanced through the documents, he let out a faint scoff.

“A naïve young master pretending to be righteous.”

Just a week of activities was enough to make it clear.

“Can you even call this the schedule of a prosecutor working at a regional prosecution office?”

At Kairus’s comment, Irena nodded in agreement.

“Coming in at nine and leaving at five-thirty?”

Ordinary prosecutors were symbols of overwork. They had so much to handle each day that pulling all-nighters was often necessary.

But in Settern Volos’s case, he proudly stuck to a routine of clocking in and out on time without even staying for dinner.

“Looks like he’s getting special treatment since his grandfather is a member of parliament.”

To Kairus’s words, Irena responded coldly.

“Pretending to be righteous without even realizing he’s receiving special privileges.”

“Still, the job he’s doing isn’t morally wrong.”

As a prosecutor, investigating a suspicion of illegal crop cultivation was part of his duty.

“It’s a separate issue.”

It was true that he was a sheltered young master benefiting from his grandfather’s influence, and it was also true that using the police to investigate Erens was the right thing to do.

And neither of those things were Kairus’s concern. He hadn’t come here to evaluate people—what he needed was other information.

“Does he have a lover or anything like that?”

“We’d need to dig deeper into his activities to find that out...”

The branch manager said this while pointing to the documents.

After reviewing the next section, Kairus clicked his tongue.

“Three escorts estimated to be the equivalent of decorated knights? What a circus.”

They were only hired bodyguards paid with money, not formal knights affiliated with any order.

So, calling them ‘decorated knight level’ was purely an estimate. However, judging from their resumes, the Rose Garden branch’s assessment didn’t seem far off.

“This would make continuing the investigation pretty tough.”

It clearly wasn’t a situation the Rose Garden branch could handle on its own. After reviewing the documents once more, Kairus stood up.

“Tell me how to contact you.”

“If you send a telegram to the museum with the message ‘Shrimp soup on a cold day,’ we’ll dispatch someone to your hotel.”

That kind of contact method essentially meant: don’t ask for backup during a fight.

“Alright.”

Still, Kairus agreed with the branch manager’s unspoken understanding.

Engaging in combat would mean fighting against Settern Volos’s bodyguards. In that kind of situation, there was realistically nothing the Rose Garden branch could do to support Kairus.

A 2nd Class or 3rd Class decorated knight—those ranks carried serious weight.

“In addition, we’ve compiled everything we could investigate on our end.”

“There are a few more things I’d like your help with.”

To Kairus’s remark, the branch manager responded.

“If it’s within our capabilities, we’ll do everything we can.”

After some consideration, Kairus pulled out his forged ID and checked it before speaking.

“I’d like you to make Irena and me into reporters.”

“…Excuse me?”

The branch manager looked momentarily confused by Kairus’s request.

“We’re planning to enter the regional prosecution office under the pretext of reporting on a prosecutor’s work schedule.”

To do that, they needed the cooperation of the Rose Garden branch.

“If it’s not possible, just say so. I’m not the kind of person who throws a fit after making impossible demands.”

The branch manager stroked his chin for a moment before replying.

“What about magazine reporters?”

Kairus nodded at the suggestion.

“That’s fine. As long as we can get into the prosecution office under the guise of an interview, I don’t care.”

“That’s a relief. It’s a company called Roderick Publishing.”

It was a publishing company in Murdan City that specialized in magazines.

“We brought it under our control after years of covert work. It won’t be difficult to disguise the two of you as magazine reporters from that company.”

Even if the prosecution office contacted Roderick Publishing to verify the identities of Kairus and Irena, the branch manager explained that the company would cooperate.

“Alright then, let’s go with that method.”

“Understood. Once all preparations are complete, we’ll send someone to your hotel.”

After finishing their conversation, Kairus and Irena gathered the documents and left the museum.

“Looks like we’re heading back to the hotel.”

“So what. The important thing is that we’ve secured a reason to get close to Settern Volos.”

Considering the skill of his escorts, shadowing him from a distance wouldn’t yield meaningful results. That’s why they decided to push the cover identities further and get close enough to watch him up close.

“The plan sounds solid, but what about the battle gear?”

“We can’t bring it.”

Kairus and Irena had come from Bennett City. If they combined the cover of being magazine reporters with being from Bennett, it wouldn’t be an issue for them to carry battle gear for personal protection.

However, there was no way they’d be allowed to enter the prosecution office armed.

“Unarmed, huh.”

“What, you scared?”

At Kairus’s remark, Irena let out a sharp laugh and lifted her chin slightly.

“Scared? Are you asking me that? We’re about to spy on the grandson of a parliamentary member while dodging his decorated knight-level escorts. Who wouldn’t be scared doing something like that?”

After a moment of silence, Irena answered again with renewed energy.

“If you’re not scared, are you even human?”

The more capable someone was with battle gear, the more they tended to rely on it.

Someone who could wield superhuman power would suffer far greater fear than a normal person if forced to operate without it.

“If you’re scared, go home.”

“I never said I wasn’t going to do it.”

Irena snapped back a little at Kairus’s words.

“Your energy’s in the right place.”

While they were talking in Kairus’s room, a subordinate from the Rose Garden branch reported that preparations were complete.

“The two of you will go to the regional prosecution office under the identities of the Mingleton couple.”

It seemed the Rose Garden branch had also slipped some bribes to the prosecution office to secure cooperation for their interview.

“This looks like all the help we’re going to get from the Rose Garden branch.”

To be fair, asking for anything beyond this would be expecting too much from the branch.

Once they confirmed the preparations were done, Kairus and Irena packed their things and stepped out into the street.

“That tracking device—are you sure it works?”

“It’s been a while since I bought it, but it still works just fine.”

In case of loss, they had previously implanted tracking flechettes into each of their battle gears. Even if something went wrong, they could always track them down.

Arriving at the center of Murdan City, Kairus and Irena approached the front gate of the regional prosecution office.

“Hello. I'm Smith Mingleton, and this is my wife, Lisa Mingleton.”

The police officer guarding the front gate looked Kairus and Irena over.

“Please tell me the purpose of your visit.”

“Oh, we’re reporters from Roderick Publishing. We’re here for an interview today. I was told you’d already been informed.”

Kairus explained the situation while handing over his ID.

“…Please wait a moment. I’ll confirm it.”

“Oh, do I need to submit mine as well?”

Irena also handed over her forged ID.

The officer examined both IDs closely for a while but found nothing suspicious.

Of course, there was no way he could find anything. Despite being called forged IDs, those provided by the Rose Garden were mostly IDs that had belonged to real people.

Naturally, the original holders of those IDs would likely never use them again in their lives.

“Confirmed. Please wait a moment, someone will come to escort you.”

“Thank you. Appreciate your hard work.”

After Irena politely thanked him, a person came out of the building and approached Kairus and Irena.

“Smith Mingleton and Lisa Mingleton.”

The bespectacled man checked their IDs once more and greeted them.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m Investigator Melson.”

According to the data received from the Rose Garden branch, Melson worked in Settern Volos’s office. The fact that he came to meet Kairus and Irena confirmed that the subject of the interview would be Settern Volos.

It was expected, really. Other prosecutors were usually buried in work all day. But Settern Volos had a visibly relaxed schedule.

In that context, when someone came for a publicity piece like a magazine interview, the regional prosecution office would naturally think of Settern Volos—the grandson of a parliament member with plenty of time to spare.

“Thank you for giving us this interview opportunity, Investigator Melson.”

Melson returned the greeting to Kairus.

“Prosecutor Settern Volos has agreed to assist with your interview. Please be mindful not to interfere excessively with his duties.”

“Understood.”

“And also—”

Clearing his throat, Melson lowered his voice.

“As journalists, I’m sure you’re aware of what the name Volos signifies.”

“Of course. We’ll be extremely careful not to say anything that could offend the prosecutor.”

Listening to Kairus, Irena quickly chimed in.

“There won’t be anything offensive in the article either.”

“Please, I’m counting on you. Now, if you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to Prosecutor Settern Volos.”

Satisfied with their responses, Investigator Melson led them to Settern Volos’s office.

“Welcome. I’m Settern Volos, the prosecutor from Murdan Regional Prosecution Office who’ll be cooperating with you on this interview.”

At last, Kairus and Irena were face to face with the man they needed to either eliminate or neutralize.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.